


only if

by iffiness



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, First Dates, Fluff and Humor, Maybe a Little Pining, Slow Burn, beginnings of a mutual interest, dum-e get your shit together pls, shameless fluff, youre embarrassing your father
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 16:03:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14814501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iffiness/pseuds/iffiness
Summary: It was his personal lab. She’d never been to this level of the building before, and she had no idea if she was allowed to just wander in or if it was even just a good idea to do so without some sort of guidance. It was the sort of controlled chaos that she’d come to expect from Tony Stark. Across one wall stood several old iterations of the Iron Man suit in standing cases, each one fundamentally the same but changed in enough ways that it was obvious they were different marks. Several tables were scattered around the room, most holding either varying metal pieces or things of a questionably scientific nature. A few hologram screens were littered above the main table in the middle of the room, the information moving on them so quickly that she couldn’t even be bothered to make sense of it.





	only if

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rix1998](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rix1998/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Kings Never Die](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14403390) by [iffiness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iffiness/pseuds/iffiness). 



> ok so Rix1998 gave me this idea weeks ago with a comment on my Kings Never Die series, and while i'm not sure this is canon for that series, I just couldn't let the idea of it go? theres really not enough tony/maria hill stuff to go around so here you all go, enjoy this shameless bit of fluff!

“Dr. Stark?” Maria called out from the doorway of the lab she’d been called to, her eyes roaming over every corner of the place looking for the man in question. 

 

It was his  _ personal _ lab. She’d never been to this level of the building before, and she had no idea if she was allowed to just wander in or if it was even just a good idea to do so without some sort of guidance. It was the sort of controlled chaos that she’d come to expect from Tony Stark. Across one wall stood several old iterations of the Iron Man suit in standing cases, each one fundamentally the same but changed in enough ways that it was obvious they were different marks. Several tables were scattered around the room, most holding either varying metal pieces or things of a questionably scientific nature. A few hologram screens were littered above the main table in the middle of the room, the information moving on them so quickly that she couldn’t even be bothered to make sense of it. 

 

Movement caught her attention from one of the darker corners of the labs, and she watched with a raised brow as a large metal box came her way, a single claw raised in the air and waving around. The closer it got the more clearly she could hear the various beeps and squeals coming from its speakers, and when it was close enough the claw lowered until it was gently poking her shoulder. 

 

“Apologies, Miss Hill. Boss will just be a minute late to your meeting, but DUM-E is more than willing to be your tour guide to the lab.” FRIDAY’s lilted voice came from one of the various speakers in the ceiling above her, just as sweet as always. She wasn’t sure if the novelty of an AI that could sound so human would ever wear off.

 

“I suppose you are DUM-E?” Maria questioned the bot as the claw enthusiastically nodded up and down before gently clasping her forearm. She allowed herself to be tugged along with the excited bot, noticing the obvious careful way it was trying to avoid bumping into things. Its name meant it was the first one Dr. Stark had ever made, back when he was still a teenager, and she had never been able to see it firsthand before. It was a marvel back then, and even now she would still consider it to be more advanced than most of what the world had access to. 

 

Only a few paces more into the room and, despite its best efforts, the bot ended up rolling straight into a chair that had been haphazardly pushed back from one of the worktables. The result was like a Rube Goldberg had set off in the room. The chair was pushed into the worktable, which made a container of metal ball bearings fall into the floor and spill everywhere; several of those continued rolling until they bumped into the body of another bot who was so surprised by the turn of events that it dropped the bottle of soda it had been holding. The soda landed on the cap at just the right angle, with just enough pressure built up from being shaken around, to have it blasting off across the room. 

 

The bottle itself smacked right into the gobsmacked face of Tony Stark himself, holding a hand towel as he came out of what was most likely an adjoining bathroom to the lab. His hair was still wet from either a quick wash or a shower, he wore only an old ribbed tank top that had clearly seen better days (and was quickly showing the new stains from the soda), a pair of jeans with plenty of burn marks and oil stains, and plain white socks. It was the most dressed down she had ever seen him. 

 

Silence reigned long and thick for several seconds as the entire atmosphere of the lab seemed to tense. The bots were, quite poorly, trying to appear as innocent as possible by retracting their claw-heads to be smaller than they actually were. Tony’s face remained impressively flabbergasted as his eyes slowly roved across the room, all the way from where Maria stood beside a now reticent DUM-E to where the now empty bottle of soda rested on the floor by his feet. 

 

“I-...” Tony began to say, only to drop off after a single choked off note. It was clear that this wasn’t exactly a new occurrence, but something about it was hitting him in just the right way that rendered him speechless.

 

And Maria, much to both her and his surprise, couldn’t help but to crack an amused smile at him. She quickly covered it with one of her hands, bringing them up to where she could have one crossed about her chest as the other rested on her face, but it was more than apparent that she was just trying not to laugh. 

 

It broke through whatever spell was on him though as he watched her reaction, a slow grin spreading across his lips as he tossed the hand towel back into the room he’d come from. A quick bend had him picking up the bottle, and he sauntered across the room straight to the second bot who had dropped it to begin with. “Alright, U. Time to fess up. Where do you keep getting these?” A series of beeps and boops followed his words, followed by a roll of his eyes as he thrust the empty bottle at its claw. “Yeah, ‘cause I’m totally going to believe that. I bet if I ask DUM-E he’d tell me.”

 

Tony made his way toward her and DUM-E after that, U trailing along slowly behind him. Tony briefly looked at her before focusing entirely on the still silent bot at her side, a brow raising up as the claw slowly raised to look at him. “You know there’s no way I’ll believe this mess isn’t your fault, right?” A long, sad beep that was more like a trill came from the bot, and Tony scoffed at it. “Clean it up. Both of you. And I expect one of you to tell me where this stash of soda is when you’re done.” 

 

They both trundled off at the dismissal, toward a table that held a dustpan and broom. Tony watched them with an exasperated, but fond, expression before he finally gave Maria his full attention. “Sorry about that, Miss Hill. They get a little… excited.” 

 

She felt safe in letting her hand drop now that some time had passed, offering him a quirked smile in response. “So I see.” 

 

He smiled back at her, although it seemed just forced enough as he made a conscious effort of clearing his throat as he leaned back against the worktable behind him. He didn’t say anything outright, just stared at her, and likely would have continued to do so until she finally raised a brow at him in question. “Sorry. I just, uh-...” he trailed off, before shaking his head and standing upright again. “Never mind. I was wondering if you wanted to discuss some of the material we’re covering in the Accords Council meeting next week?”

 

It was a good idea, she would be the first to admit it, but the location and the rather relaxed atmosphere was something unexpected for her. They’d usually held meetings like this in the official rooms upstairs, or even one of their offices, but if this was how he wanted to roll she would just go along with it.

 

At some point she even forgot that they were in his personal space, one of the places he probably felt safest of all, as they pushed and pulled at each other’s thoughts and ideas over what to do with the Accords. They’d even ended up on the old couch in the corner at some point, Maria had taken her shoes off, and Tony had his feet propped on the table in front of them and an arm over the back of the couch. It was nice, in its own way. Very different from everything she’d ever seen of Tony Stark, but in a way that still was befitting of the tech giant. All good things end though, and it was with that thought that she realized she really did need to get to bed soon. She had a few meetings starting just after dawn the next day and she needed to be rested for them.

 

“Maybe we can pick this up again tomorrow sometime, Dr. Stark?” she asked him after a slightly longer pause between their words, already reaching for her shoes to put them back on.

 

“Only if you call me Tony. I can deal with the rest of them doing this whole “Dr. Stark” thing, even if it makes me grind my teeth, but  _ you _ have to call me Tony,” he replied easily, throwing a tentatively charming smile her way as she looked back at him. 

 

“Well, you  _ do _ have more doctorates than just about anyone I know,” she riposted, and that small smile became much more deprecating than it had been as he just shrugged. Tony Stark was a man that could make anything look good, but something about that painful smile made her heart tug at its sheer wrongness on his face. It was  _ ugly _ in a way that Tony Stark was not meant to be, and she could probably make a PowerPoint explaining every single reason why it existed to begin with. “But sure.  _ Tony _ .” 

 

The acquiescence to his request and the sarcastic inflection on his name did what she had wanted, and his smile grew brighter than it was as he regarded her intently. More intently than she was honestly used to from him. She’d known for a long time that Tony Stark’s mind, his attention, could be overwhelming and intense. She’d seen villains cower under the sheer magnitude of having those whisky colored eyes focused on them. It was a little unnerving, but it almost felt like it was breathing life into a barely burning fire beneath her skin. A fire that had been banked long, long ago in her teenage years, and had only recently been getting any small amount of attention at all. 

 

“Maybe over dinner?” Tony suddenly asked after their silent staring contest, and though the intensity of his stare didn’t diminish it did take a different turn. It seemed more hesitant, more earnest, than before. Like he was reading the situation and coming up with dozens of paths and outcomes off of her, and had no idea which one to pick as a true possibility. 

 

It took her less time than she would’ve ever thought possible, after being propositioned like this by him, but she found herself returning the tentative smile. After all, there were worse things than having dinner with Tony Stark. 

  
  


“Only if you call me Maria.” 


End file.
